Method of tenderizing articles of food



2,881,880 Patented Apr. 7, 195 9 ice METHOD OF TENDERIZKN G ARTICLES OFFOOD Luther G. Simjiau, Greenwich, Conn, assignor to The ReflectoneCorporation, Stamford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut No Drawing.Application February 13, 1958 Serial No. 714,949

4 Claims. '(Cl. 99=--217 This invention refers to the treatment ofarticles by chemicals and has particular refren'ceto impregnatingorganic articles by means of enzymes.

The use of enzymes to effect tenderization of food, for assisting in thetanning and processing of leather and for the purpose of aiding in theprocessing of other organic articles is well known in the art. Enzymessuch as papain or trypsin are usually suspended in a liquid water basesolution and articles to be treated are dipped for a brief period intothe solution. This method has serious disadvantages as the enzymes areapplied in a highly concentrated form to the surface of the articlethereby causing the surface of meat for instance, to become mushy,discolored, and spoiled at an accelerated rate, whereas the inside ofthe article remains substantially undisturbed until the chemical changestaking place on the surface of the article can penetrate to theinterior.

To alleviate these shortcomings devices have been designed whichcomprise rollers incorporating hollow needles, the cavities within theneedles being charged with enzyme solution. As the article to be treatedis brought into contact with the rollers, the surface of the article ispunctured and the enzyme solution is injected into the inside of thearticle. This method, although overcoming the surface problem, puncturesand thereby damages the article. Moreover, this method injects theenzyme solution at discrete spots from which the chemical reaction mustdiffuse to the remaining area and to the surface.

One of the objects of this invention therefore is a new and improvedmethod of impregnating articles by enzymes which avoids one or more ofthe disadvantages of prior art devices and methods.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for obtainingsubstantially uniform penetration by enzymes of the article to betreated.

Another object of this invention is an improved method causingtenderization of an article of food by chemical means.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a method toaccelerate processing of certain articles, as for instance, leather,without disturbing the shape of the article.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a method fortreating articles by means of enzymes using compressive wave energy incombination with an enzyme solution to obtain impregnation of thearticle.

Other and further objects will be apparent from the followingdescription of the invention.

Enzymes are well known in the field of organic chemistry and are usedfrequently for processing of organic materials. Enzymes, in broad terms,are catalytic agents, animal or vegetable, which are produced by livingcells for the purpose of effecting chemical changes in absorbing orsurrounding substances. Specific reference is made to The Encyclopediaof Chemistry, by G. L. Clark, published by Reinhold Publishing Company,New York,

. 2 N. Y., 1957, and Thorpes Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, fourthedition, by I. F. Thorpe et al., published by Longmans, Green andCompany, New York, N. Y., 1940, reprinted 1944.

When treating, for example, an article of meat for the purpose oftenderizatiomit is advantageous to pre pare a solution which containsenzymes into which the article to be treated is immersed. A typicalenzyme useable for this purpose is papain which hydrolyzes-proteins.Another typical enzyme for articles of food is trypsin, sold under thetrade name of Tryptar which may be used in the ratio of 250,000 unitsper 25 cubic centimeters of water. The article to be treated and also amagnetostriction sonic transducer operating at a frequency 'of l to 50kilocycles is immersedinto this solution and the transducer whenenergized causes compres sive wave energy to repetitively bombard thearticle whereby the liquid acts as a coupling medium. In this manner,the liquid containing the enzymes is brought forcedly into intimatecontact with the article and driven into the surface of the article soas to impregnate the article.

It will be understood that the type of enzymes, the frequency of soundenergy, concentration of the solution, etc., recited above, is forillustrative purposes only and that the process will to a large extentdepend upon the temperature conditions, duration of treatment, power ofthe sound energy, and type of article to be treated. Typical values forthese parameters are approximately 250 watts per transducer head and anexposure of a few seconds at temperature ranging between 0 and 20degrees centigrade. In an alternate design the article to be treated maybe coated with a solution containing the enzymes using a dip, brush orspray coating process and then exposing the article to the sound energyWhereby the transducer head may be in direct contact with the article orbe caused to transfer its energy via another liquid or gaseous medium.

In a further and alternate design, the walls of a tank containing theliquid may be permanently lined with transducer heads and the article tobe treated is dipped for a brief moment into the solution by means ofconveyor means during which time the transducer heads are activated toproduce sonic vibrations.

The transducers used to obtain compressive wave energy may be ofconventional design and may comprise magnetostriction transducers,piezoelectric transducers, or other transducers which producecompressive waves in the form of sound energy as described for instancein US. Patent No. 2,806,246, issued September 17, 1957, entitled FoodTenderizer or in application for US. Letters Patent, Serial No. 537,720,filed September 30, 1955, entitled Food Tenderizer, now US. Patent No.2,830,912, issued April 15, 1958.

Transducers of the type indicated will produce vibrations in the sonicor ultrasonic frequency range. Satisfactory results will be achieved bythe use of nickel type magnetostriction transducers driven from a sourceof electric energy at frequencies ranging from one to fifty kilocycles.It will be understood however that other types of transducers may beused without deviating from the principle of this invention.

When treating certain articles of food, particularly meat, flavoringextracts, such as hydrolyzed vegetable proteins may be added to thesolution so as to improve the flavor thereby providing a still morepalatable product.

While the method described above is well adapted for aging, tenderizing,tanning of leather, etc., by means of enzymes or flavoring of foodproducts, it should be clearly understood by those skilled in the artthat the same method and process may be used to attain improved, more 3even and uniform penetration of porous articles by chemical substancesin fluid form.

While there have been described certain embodiments of the presentinvention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manyvariations and modifications may be made therein without departing fromthe principle and spirit of the present invention which shall be limitedonly by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Method of tenderizing an article of food comprising the steps ofapplying an aqueous enzyme solution to the article and then treatingsaid article with sound wave energy selected to be within the sonic andultrasonic frequency range.

2. Method of tenderizing an article of food comprising the steps ofcoating the article with an enzyme solution and then treating thearticle with sound wave energy selected to be in the sonic andultrasonic frequency range.

3. Method of tenderizing an article of food comprising the steps ofimmersing the article into an enzyme solution and then applying soundwave energy to said solution, said energy being in the sonic andultrasonic frequency range.

4. Method of tenderizing an article of food comprising the steps ofimmersing the article into an enzyme solution and then applying soundwave energy to said article, said energy being in the sonic andultrasonic frequency range.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,471,282 Paddock May 24, 1949 2,522,082 Arnold Sept. 22, 1950 2,657,668Maier Nov. 3, 1953 2,694,307 Henry Nov. 16, 1954 2,830,912 Simjian Apr.15, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,592/31 Australia July 28, 1931

1. METHOD OF TENDERIZING AN ARTICLE OF FOOD COMPRISING THE STEPS OFAPPLYING AN AQUEOUS ENZYME SOLUTION TO THE ARTICLE AND THEN TREATINGSAND ARTICLE WITH SOUND WAVE BY ENERGY SELECTED TO BE WITHIN THE SONICAND ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY RANGE.